It's beginning to look a lot like...

Zombie! (Apocalypse.) everywhere I go! There was a night long ago
where several of my siblings and I stayed up together singing
zombie-version Christmas songs we invented. It was way fun!

Merry Christmas and happy New Years, everybody!

Thus ends the usage of Christmas messages this year! Too bad, too; we
just found a really good one!

Weekly Questions!

Was the temple nice?
Yeah, it was tons of fun! It's nice to be as close as we are to it.

Just the one question this week, but that's alright! I'm sure they
will pick up again soon!

We had our Christmas conference this week, and we got to watch "Meet
the Mormons" there! It was actually way good! I recommend it to
everyone! Speaking of recommends, we got a cool mission temple
recommend holder as well! Good shtufts for Christmas.

Random Story Time!
We went to visit a member that lives supa' far away, rode around for a
while 'cuz we made the mistake of letting the other elders lead, then
we got there, shared a message, played Uno with some interesting
rules, then we rode our bikes with the dad running beside us to a
ramen shop, where we ate some way good ramen then rode to another
member appointment, had a role-play lesson with them, then rode out to
visit a potential investigator of ours named Esther so we could invite
her to church. It was a fun day.

Elder Wallace and I had a 3-4 hour long cleaning session this week and
found out that one of our futons is supa' moldy and we're gonna have
to get it replaced, unfortunately. Hey, we might end up with bunk-beds
so it doesn't happen again, so not a bad deal!

I think that's it! Loves!
Younger Elder Brooksby

How many proposals in one day?

Two different girls asked me to marry them this week. On the same day.
I feel like I should've been keeping track of how many girls have
proposed to me, but I didn't think it would be that frequent!

Hallo, humans and doggies!

Elder Wallace and I were asked to come to a training we had already
heard in the mission home. That, along with a ton of other events,
makes our use of trains increase significantly. Whoo, reimbursements!

I have yet to be asked any questions this week, but if I get any
before I'm done writing, I'll be sure to answer them!

We've actually been extremely busy this week. We only had one day that
wasn't completely planned by Sunday afternoon, at least until we
realized that we also had to do weekly planning... We have little time
beyond our appointments!

For some reason, all of our investigators speak English! It's kinda
strange, but two of them are English teachers, one of them Vietnamese,
etc, etc... Not anything that Elder Wallace is complaining about, for
sure!

Random Story Time!
This week we made it to the English class of the guy I mentioned last
week! It was supa' fun! It's not that I have anything against our own
English class, but that guy knows how to run shtufts! There were about
15 kids, ranging around 6~10 years old, with one 14 year old in the
advanced class, and it was ridiculously high-energy. The teacher guy
kept trying to set us up with the 14 year old, getting her to ask
weird questions and stuff. For example, (Elder Wallace also got
proposed to once or twice this week.) he told her to ask "Will you
marry me?" and she was all confused and didn't catch what he was
saying, then one of the younger kids told her what he meant, so she
turned to Elder Wallace and said "How old are you?" and it was
hilarious. I definitely want to go back and help sometime!

We had our Ward Christmas party this week! The Elders were asked to
help build Bethlehem, so we used all our amazing scouting skills and
owned that wood and rope and made some pretty cool mangers and
shtufts, then I was nominated by the other elders to play the angel
Gabriel in the nativity. It was kinda funny 'cuz when we did the first
rehearsal I was still wearing all of my work clothes, so I had to take
off my black hoodie and gloves to put on the white robes of angel-dom
and I instantly thought of the scripture Romans 13:12-"The night is
far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armour of light."

We went and helped out at an open house in a church in Yamate for a
good long while today, just kinda standing around and telling people
to enter the building and fill out the questionnaire. We'll be back
tomorrow near a park near the church from 9:30am to 1:30pm, so a good
three hours. It's gonna be... Fun? Prolly?

Anyways, ttyal! Lovingeds!
Younger Elder Brooksby

I do the monkey bars...

...upside down! Elder Wallace and I decided that you could prolly make a lot of money by becoming a professional monkey bar climber.

Hullo, humans!

We've all been sick this week! I was inside for over three days long! Elder Wallace got a break when Elder Van Vleet felt more sick than him, so they went on splits to trade off. Luckily we should all be up to speed soon!

Weekly Questions!

What part is your favorite to play in the family nativity scene?

I like the wise men, mainly for the fun hats. The narrator or cameraman is pretty cool too.

How is my mission president doing?

He's doing alright, I believe. I haven't seen him recently, though.

Any new things going on for you?

Not tons. We have an appointment with one of our investigators who we haven't met in about two weeks, so that should be fun.

What are some Japanese activities for December?

It's date month! Most American holidays are dating holidays in Japan.

Is there anything you would like for Christmas?

Letters are cool. I wouldn't really want much else...

Do you guys know how hard it is to find a mini hole-punch? I'm trying to finish up a planner cover but I can't find a proper sized hole-punch anywhere!

Random Story Time!

We got a referral! Or we almost got a referral! A member who just moved in started talking to her neighbors and she said she just needs to set an appointment with him. It's supa cool!

Funny quote from this week: "Me and we! It's like me and you, but with more me!"

That's about it! Loveds!

Younger Elder Brooksby

Rock vs. Paper: My companions biggest life decision.

My companion was stuck deciding between buying a 40$ 3,000 piece
puzzle of Machu Pichu or buying a 42$ rock sphere and wooden stand. He
chose the rock.

Hello peopleseds!

I got a letter of letters from my home ward, so there are quite a few
questions this week. I guess I'll have to rely on my family to get
them the responses if they want them...

Weekly Questions!

How am I?
Doing awesome! How are you?

How is my mission going?
It's going awesomely! How's yours?

How is Tokyo? Is it nice here?
It's awesome! How's America?

Have I met any awesome people here?
Tons of awesome people, actually. Some of the coolest people live out
here. Sometimes I actually even miss one or two of them!

What is something I like to do?
I like to destroy stereotypes. Like, for example, clothes. In America
I would wear a black v-neck tee shirt, dark jeans, black shoes, black
fingerless gloves, a grey hoodie and had long, dark brown hair. It was
surprising to see how much different people acted around me just
because of how I looked, and with that look it was often a negative
reaction. Aware of that, I enjoyed just doing good things and making
people think "Huh, maybe those kids aren't as bad as I thought they
were...". Stereotypes are useful sometimes, because people who dress a
certain way are aware of how that type of person is viewed and still
dress like that for a reason, but I like to make people realize that
they aren't necessarily always who they think they are.

What is my favorite food?
Okonomiyaki! It's like a cabbage pancake with shrimp and fish and
seaweed and whatever else you want to put in it!

How many people have I baptized?
It's generally a better idea to have the investigators member
fellowshipper baptize them, so I have baptized 0 people.

How much longer do I have on my mission?
I'll be back eventually.

What is the hardest thing about serving a mission?
Having to leave. When you leave America, that's hard sometimes.
Leaving things up to God, that's hard sometimes. Leaving the stability
of who you used to be, that's hard sometimes. Leaving your best
friends, that's always hard.

What is my favorite color?
Black and red. If it's just one, dark red is the coolest!

What is Christmas to me?
A holiday for April 6th haha

What are my favorite things about Christmas?
I love ... Mmm... I was gonna say puppies, but that was only once...

What do I wish others would do for me at Christmas time?
Be happy with improvement, nothing less. That would make me happy.
Also, if people would send me letters or messages or something, I
would love that.

What do I think I am good at?
Humility.

Where do I see yourself in a year from now?
Probably taking a ton of random college classes, possibly in Japan,
possibly in America, possibly in Germany.

Do I love my mission?
More that you could even know.

Do I know that my family loves me?
That I do. I think I'm more aware of love when I let myself love more.
It's just the logical choice now, right?

*****Transfer Update!!!*****
Elder Wallace and I are the same!
Elder Ford leaves and Elder someone replaces him!
Sister Kaizaki leaves and is replaced by Sister Matsuzaki!
Elder Kojima is replaced by Elder Cook!

Lunch after church
Random Story Time!
We had a Thanksgiving party! It was awesome!

We were at a church lunch after sacrament and just felt like I would
miss Japan and how they all hang out forever after church for no
reason. Then I realized I just really miss Hodogaya and all the
awesome people there, and that's really what sums it all up.

Loves!

Younger Elder Brooksby

Captain Chiba came to church!

That one guy I mentioned in an earlier email made it to church last
week and he is totally investigating now! It was good to hear.

Hello, everyone!

Whazzup and hanging? My companion wanted to buy a wooden 6 foot tall
giraffe model. I told him it would prolly work through transfers if
the legs and head detached.

Weekly Questions!

Time is getting short. Any thoughts on that?
My time is sufficient for the work God has for me. That is all I am
concerned about.

What is my favorite Birthday memory?
Mmm... Normally I can think of one, but, while a couple come to mind,
I don't think there's a favorite...

Can I teach my family Happy Birthday in Japanese to add to the list of
languages we sing the happy birthday song in?
I can when I get home! I wouldn't send it in an email 'cuz 1) the
pronunciation would get all screwed up, 2) Japanese people actually
sing the happy birthday song in English, so I have to write it and 3)
I'm not too good at spelling Japanese words sometimes, and I'm too
lazy to look up the proper ones at this moment.

What is a quality I have found in myself or others that I admire?
You can't admire yourself! That just doesn't work! But I love short
people, I think it's pretty cool if someone is bi/trilingual, but the
number one attribute that I look for in others or work for myself is
an understanding heart.

Which Super Hero is my favorite?
Wolverine, for sure! He is way chill yet can beat the crap out of
basically anything, but he can still lose, but he can't die, so even
when he loses he gets a second chance. He also just goes and doesn't
pay the slightest attention to peer pressure, beyond considering if it
is actually helpful information.

If I could instantly play any instrument, which one would I choose?
Mmm... I really wanna play the drums, but I also wanna go back to
writing music, so I wanna re-learn guitar so I could write for that. I
would prolly choose drums and just work on guitar.

Chocolate, vanilla or strawberry?
If this is the ice cream question, vanilla. If not, strawberries are way good!

Elder Sawyer called about a referral they are sending our way and I
was all like "Woah, Elder Sawyer, it's been like, a year since that
first day in Kunitachi!" and he was all like "Woah, it has been, huh?
Time flies!" They grow up so quickly! Fifth transfer with my first
trainee... It was actually a couple of days short of a year exactly.

Random Story Time!
We went to a fun music activity and Elder Wallace played the piano and
it was pretty cool, then after we had some English class students come
up to us and say "Do you wanna go to the barbers together?" And Elder
Wallace and I were way confused, but after they said it a couple more
times we realized hey were saying "Do you wanna go get burgers
together?" And it was way funny. Then we went and got burgers and they
pulled out a pack of face cards while we were waiting for our food and
said "What do you wanna play?" And, because missionaries probably
shouldn't be playing poker, we played a game or two of go fish. It was
interesting and the burgers were way good.

I met an American member at the temple today and when I told her how
long I had been a missionary she she said "You're going to BYU, right?
My cousin goes there, oh wait, sorry. She's married, but she has lots
of friends!" And I thought it's funny how apparent it is that that is
the expected next step for missionaries.

That's about it! Loves to you all!
Younger Elder Brooksby

My companion paid 12$ in coins.

In America, people would get upset. In Japan, they count it and give
you your change.

Hello, all of da peoples!

Mostly questions this week!

Weekly Questions!

What do I dream about happening in my life?
I don't dream haha. I plan on doing everything eventually, the big
question is when and what first?

Where do I get the most joy from?
Family. My companion and I were talking about the happiest moments in
our lives, and he was categorizing them according to life events, but
I just thought of one or two specific moments, very family-focused
memories.

Did I get the postcards?
Yupp yupp! They were awesome! The square one was way intense! All the
elders in my apartment got really confused when I started spinning a
postcard in circles like I was reading it like that.

Does it happen to me that I am like, 20x more expressive in letters?
Mah, it used to. I talk more now, so I don't really know...

Did we get lots of good food this week?
Yeah, we already had a good amount of necessary shtufts, so this week
was actually way cheap! It's awesome!

What is it like to shop in Japan?
Like shopping in America, but with more fish and less sugar.

Have I seen or been to the Costco here?
Yeah,  that's where we got the four pounds of meat I mentioned two
weeks ago. The pizza is the same! It's crazy!

When I think of a new Book of Brooksby topic, how do I decide?
That's a good question! I have no idea! Sometimes an idea pops into my
head, sometimes I have to think about it, sometimes I look through PMG
or notes I've had before and sometimes someone asks for a specific
topic. Feel free to request a chapter sometime!

Am I thinking of happy thoughts?
Nah, gloomy is the way to go! I never think happy thoughts! That would be silly!

Do I like to talk on the phone?
I like text-based or face-to-face conversation better, generally, but
it doesn't bug me to talk on the phone. If there was no way to do
face-to-face, even with Skype, I would totally call someone and talk.

What calling in the Church would be my favorite? What do I think I
would like to do?
Anything I get called to, God knows it would be my favorite! I want to
help someone, somehow.

What is a hobby that I would like to do when I get home?
Mmm... I might start YouTubing shtufts, but I also wanna write some
books, learn to play the drums, random shtufts like that.

When am I the happiest?
When I am where I am, 100%

We went to landmark tower today! My trainee was all like "I'm
definitely gonna come here every transfer! This is awesome!" And we
had a good time.

Random Story Time!
We cleaned a river! And one of the sisters fell in! Just kidding! It
was fun, but not anything too exciting happened. The End!

Give a dog a treat for me!

Loves to everybody!
Younger Elder Brooksby

Carry four pounds of meat.

People notice. We went to Costco today and got a big thing of meat,
and it was all people would notice as we walked down the street. Got
some interesting looks.

Heyo, people!

We had a Halloween party and it was fun! We basically played
rock-paper-scissors for an hour.

Weekly Questions!

What is new in my life?
So much. There is so much new in my un-varying missionary life!
Really, though, everything is always new, so it doesn't seem too much
different, most of the time.

How is the new area?
It's fun. We haven't had as much time as we would've liked to explore
and talk to people, but we know it pretty well.

How is the new missionary training going? How is the faith training?
It's going good! We're having a party and getting work done! Elder
Wallace seems to be catching on to the work pretty easy, so I dunno if
that means I'm doing my job or if he just picks it up naturally, but
it's nice either way!

How is my language doing?
I haven't been doing much in language study other than marking my
grammar book in a way that makes newbies understand it easier, but I
don't really have a problem otherwise!

Are my suits holding up?
They don't. I get to practice my sewing skills a lot, but they always
look fairly decent 'cuz I've gotten pretty good at
lighter-maintenance.

Are we getting any cooler weather yet?
Yeah, we're required to wear long-sleeves from now on.

How far is the mission office from the Temple?
30 minutes? I don't remember exactly, but not too far.

Do I still need a map for the subway or bus?
Nope! Got it figured out! Having a phone with the train schedules
helps, but it's not necessary.

I saved my companion from a massive spider 'cuz he didn't see it and I
caught him by the arm and pulled him out of the way. He was way
nervous for the next few minutes.

Random Story Time!
We went to a big conference where Elder Ringwood of the Seventy came
and spoke to us and it was pretty cool. At the end we had a Q&A
session and I asked a question that I had had when I was a young
missionary, but by now I had solved the problem but I didn't know what
the solution was, I just knew it wasn't a problem anymore. He answered
my question pretty well and I got some cool insights from it, but
afterwards as he went to leave, instead of going towards the left of
the room and out the door, he turned right and walked over to the row
I was in and motioned me over. I went up and he said "Elder Brooksby,
I dot think I answered your question in the way I should have." And


then he answered the other part of my question with a way cool bit of
advice. It was memorable, to say the least!

Our bishop is the new stake president! I wonder who our new bishop will be?

Loves!

Younger Elder Brooksby

Are you here to crusade?

"No, random guy, we teach about Jesus. Christians don't do that
anymore!" He is now our potential investigator and we have an
appointment for Thursday morning.

Heyo, peeps!

Life is going good! Lots of fun times and no damaged suitcases in
transfers! Yay!

Weekly Questions!

Have I hurt myself while on my mission?
Nope! Plenty of my companions have, but I've never had worse than a
bad cold. That doesn't mean it can't or won't happen, obviously, ne?

How am I coming along with the new greeny?
It's pretty good! His name is Elder Wallace and he is 18 years old
from California, although his birthday is on Christmas, so not too
long. He is a bit nervous to talk to people, but hey, that's always a
possibility, ne? Somehow everyone we have managed to have decent
conversations with in this area all speak English fairly well, which
makes him a bit happier haha

How is my new area?
It's pretty cool. We've just kinda been wandering in circles and
talking to people. Eventually we'll know enough about the area to pick
a couple of routes and use those, but for now it's just exploration!
The best kind!

How do I think I have grown the most?
Mmm... Probably my WSPM(words-spoken-per-minute) has increased
dramatically since I left. That's pretty weird, and we'll have to see
where it is after, but that's one of the biggest outward changes.

We had a game night on Saturday and played an hour long game of Jenga,
then a 45 minute game of Uno. It was actually pretty fun, but
unfortunately there was only one person who showed up.

Random Story Time!
I had an experience this week that made me aware of a very important
fact; don't accept a friend request from someone you don't know on
Facebook! As missionaries we're not allowed to, but we can send them a
message to figure out who they are and if they might meet missionaries
or if they are interested at all, and it's happened three different
times to me when that happened. One of them we have been working with
is a girl who lives in the Philippines, and she is very interested and
open to hearing lessons. Another just dropped off after I said I was a
missionary. The one this last week was openly dangerous and a
conversation I ended rather abruptly. I would love to provide an
opportunity for everyone to hear the gospel, but watch who you talk
to!

Elder Wallace and I walked around a ton and saw a lot of cool shops
today! It was way fun!

May your hammer be mighty!
Younger Elder Brooksby